6 People You Need Around You to Help You Succeed

By Dorcas Karuana,
It doesn’t matter if you did not receive the best academic training from a top university. A person with less education who has fully developed good relationship skills can be far more successful than a person with an impressive education who falls short in these. Nothing incredible is accomplished alone. You need others to help you, and you need to help others. With the right team, you can form a web of connections to make the seemingly impossible practically inevitable.

1. The Instigator- Someone who pushes you, who makes you think. Who motivates you to get up and go, and try, and make things happen. This is the person who gives you hope which makes things happen. ‘You can do it.’ An instigator is a strong believer in you; he encourages you to excel at what you do, keeps you cool in tense situations and helps you focus on the positive. You want to keep this person energized, and enthusiastic. This is the voice of inspiration.

2. The Cheerleader- This person is a huge fan, a strong supporter, and a rabid evangelist for you and your work. This person makes you happy; gives you a reason to smile, is intelligence, and nice to you. A cheer leader recognizes and appreciates you for an achievement, helps you know the opportunities there are for growth, tells you exactly what he/she want you to do and gives multiple reasons for doing what he wants you to do. Work to make this person rewarded, to keep them engaged. This is the voice of motivation. 

3. The Doubter- This is the devil’s advocate, who asks the hard questions and sees problems before they arise. You need this person’s perspective. Call him/her a ‘Think tank’ who comes up with new ideas, critically analyze them by looking at their positive or negative implications on you/ business and finally helps you arrive at the best decision. They are looking out for you, and want you to be as safe as you are successful. This is the voice of reason.

4. The Taskmaster- This is the loud and belligerent voice that demands you get things done. This person is the steward of momentum, making sure deadlines are met and goals are reached. This is the person who wants to see nothing but results. Occasionally, helps you focus on what gives results to your career or even business. A taskmaster ensures that you meet your plans and finish up projects in time with a focus on your growth and expansion. This is the voice of progress.

5. The Connector- This person can help you find new avenues and new allies. This person breaks through roadblocks into finds ways to make magic happen. A connector will help you attend networking events, workshops or even seminars. This is the person who gets you introduced to who is who in business circles and share what you can do best. He/ she invite you to meaningful social places; golf, Rotarian clubs, parties or other events where you are likely to get a good network of people you can do business with. You need this person to reach people and places you can’t. This is the voice of cooperation and community.

6. The Example- This is your mentor, you hero. This is the person who you seek to emulate. This is your guiding entity, someone whose presence acts as a constant reminder that you, too, can do amazing things. Mentors are very experienced and probably have a sixth sense while arriving at a decision. This is someone you trust, can connect with and is interested in and willing to help you. Mentors are honest with you and will tell you the naked truth whether you like it or not. You want to make this person proud. This is the voice of true authority.